Neil Dowling

Contributing Journalist

2 min read

The Evo X was shown at the Geneva motor show wearing its prototype X badges, although Mitsubishi president Osamu Masuko confirms it will undergo changes before being marketed as the company's latest hero car.

Power comes from a re-engineered version of the two-litre engine that has remained unchanged since it first appeared in the 1989 Galant VR4. For the Evo X it will be made from aluminium, which will save 20kg.

Mitsubishi says the engine block has been over-engineered to retain strength to cope with its turbocharged application in the Evo X.

Under the bonnet it will look different. Mitsubishi has twisted the engine around, placing the exhaust system at the back close to the firewall, with the induction at the front. This gives a lower centre of gravity and produces lower emissions by placing the exhaust closer to the catalytic converters.

The car shown at Geneva has a semi-manual transmission with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. Mitsubishi says this gearbox will be available on the production car as an option. The Evo X is to be sold on international markets with a super all-wheel control system that combines all-wheel-drive with an active centre differential, yaw control and skid control.

The same drivetrain as fitted to the outgoing Evo IX, which already has these, will be used.

Neil Dowling

Contributing Journalist

GoAutoMedia Cars have been the corner stone to Neil’s passion, beginning at pre-school age, through school but then pushed sideways while he studied accounting. It was rekindled when he started contributing to magazines including Bushdriver and then when he started a motoring section in Perth’s The Western Mail. He was then appointed as a finance writer for the evening Daily News, supplemented by writing its motoring column. He moved to The Sunday Times as finance editor and after a nine-year term, finally drove back into motoring when in 1998 he was asked to rebrand and restyle the newspaper’s motoring section, expanding it over 12 years from a two-page section to a 36-page lift-out. In 2010 he was selected to join News Ltd’s national motoring group Carsguide and covered national and international events, launches, news conferences and Car of the Year awards until November 2014 when he moved into freelancing, working for GoAuto, The West Australian, Western 4WDriver magazine, Bauer Media and as an online content writer for one of Australia’s biggest car groups. He has involved himself in all aspects including motorsport where he has competed in everything from motocross to motorkhanas and rallies including Targa West and the ARC Forest Rally. He loves all facets of the car industry, from design, manufacture, testing, marketing and even business structures and believes cars are one of the few high-volume consumables to combine a very high degree of engineering enlivened with an even higher degree of emotion from its consumers.
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